Television Musings

Autumn is upon us, and I haven’t talked fall television yet. That’s a bit of a disappointment for this videophile. It’s been mentioned before on this blog that I am a TV addict, and my last post on TV shows was back in April (“TV’s Goodbye and Hello”).

For the fall of 2009, it looks like we have somewhere around 35 new shows premiering this year. I doubt if I’ll be watching even a third of those.

A few of the summer shows caught my attention: Hawthorne on TNT, Royal Pains on USA and Warehouse 13 on SyFy (that’s the former SciFi Channel). And of course, I watched my favorite cable/summer shows: TNT’s The Closer, Saving Grace and Leverage, USA’s Burn Notice, and SyFy’s Eureka.

Now the fall shows have arrived. I caught the premiere last week of Supernatural’s fifth season on the CW, and watched the first episode of CW’s new series, Vampire Diaries. I will go to the ends of the Earth to watch Supernatural for what could be its last season; the teen angst of Vampire Diaries – even with the main teen being more than 250 years old! – may mean I drive a stake in the heart of that show. I’m giving it another ep or two, we’ll see. That’s it for the CW on my to-watch list.

Last night brought new eps of the above shows as well as the first new shows in returning favorites Bones and Fringe on Fox. I’m also a fan of the returning Dollhouse, and I’m watching the new Glee, although I’m not sure how long that one will last on my DVR. So I was glued to the TV for the premiere of Bones, then changed channels for another hour of Supernatural.

Next week is going to be busy – my DVR may go on strike!

Monday brings the return of Heroes on NBC and Castle on ABC. When the dust settles, my Monday’s will read: Heroes and Trauma (premieres the 28th), also on NBC, and Castle. Then in the spring, Chuck returns (hurrah!) along with Day One to replace Heroes and Trauma.

A number of other premieres hit the airwaves on Monday as well: Dancing with the Stars on ABC, How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami on CBS, and House on Fox.

Tuesday, I’ll be watching the finale of Warehouse 13, the premieres of returning NCIS, new NCIS: Los Angeles and new The Good Wife on CBS, and the first episode of new series The Forgotten on ABC. And that about sums up my Tuesday evening’s lineup.

Wednesday, as far as new episodes goes, is a full night. For me, not so much. I’ll check out new shows Mercy on NBC and Eastwick on ABC, and possibly ABC’s Cougar Town. The only show at the moment on this night is Glee over on Fox.

Other shows beginning their fall seasons on Wednesday include The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds and CSI: NY on CBS, and Modern Family, joining Cougar Town and Eastwick on ABC.

Thursday is a problem night for me. Next week brings the highly anticipated premiere of ABC’s Flash Forward, and the return of that network’s Grey’s Anatomy and CBS’s The Mentalist. All of which means I have shows from 7 to 9 on three networks, plus one at 9 (what with Bones, Fringe, Vampire Diaries and Supernatural already programmed on my DVR).

Tonight will find me watching the season finale of Eureka. Next Friday, I’ll watch the returns of Ghost Whisperer and Numbers on CBS and Dollhouse on Fox, which sums up my fall watching for Friday. Other premieres include the new Brothers on Fox, and the returns of the CW’s Smallville, NBC’s Law & Order, and Medium, now on CBS.

Saturdays usually find me watching movies or cleaning off the DVR. Sundays I’m awaiting the return of Cold Case (the 27th) and the new Three Rivers (premieres October 4) on CBS.

Two other premieres that I’m looking forward to are White Collar over on USA (October 23) and V, a reimaging of a classic series on ABC, on November 3.

Shows that have returned or premiered so far in September include: 90210 and Melrose Place (yes, you read that correctly – both are new takes on old favorites), America’s Next Top Model, One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl over on the CW; So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, Cops and America’s Most Wanted on Fox; Saturday Night Football and 20/20 on ABC; and Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football, The Jay Leno Show, The Biggest Loser, Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office and Community on NBC.

Others premiering later in the month include Dateline, Saturday Night Live (the 26th) on NBC; 48 Hours Mystery (the 26th), 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, and Cold Case (all returning the 27th) on CBS; Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters (the 27th), Shark Tank (29th), Hank and The Middle (30th); and The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy and American Dad on Fox (the 27th).

October brings Private Practice, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Ugly Betty and Supernanny on ABC, ’Til Death on CBS, and 30 Rock and Southland on NBC.

Are any shows capturing your attention this season? What’s programmed into your DVR?

I’m off to clear off the DVR to make room for next week’s barrage of shows!

Hi, Dave - hmmm, challenge is definitely the word! I've used Hulu.com to catch up on missed shows, and I'll have to go take a look to see what they're offering this season. Haven't heard of Graboid.com - that sounds terrific! I have a Netflix membership and have been catching up on TV shows - for instance, I will have the first disk of Rome waiting in my mailbox when I get home tonight.
My DVR is from the cable company, and I like it - but one with a hard drive and 180 hours of memory, wow, that would be the way to go! LOL
I'm with you on the science fiction shows - I'm a Trekker from way back, loved BSG and Stargate SG-1. I believe Stargate Universe starts in October - and I too am looking forward to that one. I even like some of the grade B flicks SyFy produces for Saturday nights. :) I did like the old Flash Gordon (not the new one so much) and loved Buck Rogers.
Warehouse 13 and Fringe are on my must-see list. Didn't get into Sanctuary when it started, but the promos for the new season are intriguing, so I might have to catch up with Season 1 and add it to my list. I too miss Jericho - good show, bad network.
I'm a fan of NCIS, The Mentalist, Numbers and Cold Case. Not sure if I'll keep up with Ghost Whisperer - haven't liked the latest plot devices regarding Jim - and I haven't seen Flashpoint on the schedule lately. Perhaps it was cancelled?
Nice to hear from another TV fan. I, however, need to work on that balance bit. Sounds like you're way ahead of me on that score. :)
Oh, and Brenda, the NCIS premiere was excellent!

Nebraska Dave

9/22/2009 5:50:02 PM

Jean, what a TV schedule challenge you have. I have discovered that most of the popular shows are on a website called hulu.com. With minimal advertisements and a plethora of different seasonal shows to watch I can keep up with my TV viewing on my schedule. I am interested in knowing about DVRs and have been researching the different ones. It seems to be the way to go these days. One that I looked at actually had a hard drive on it and would record 180 hours of video. That would certainly fill up the winter hours. I also have a website subscription at Graboid.com. They have practically all the years of popular seasonal shows since they began in time to the current. I have signed up for the minimal amount of $4.99 a month and get 10,000 Megabytes of video which equates to about 25 to 30 hours of viewing a month of what ever I choose to watch. The minimal subscription will keep me from totally becoming isolated. I could easily do that between the TV and computer. The site also has a huge list of movies for viewing. So for the first two weeks of the month I gorge on TV and computer. Then I have to go do projects and take trips the second two weeks. It seems to keep my life balanced.
As for favorite shows, I’m a SyFy fan all the way. It all started way back in the 50s with Flash Gordon and progressed its way up through all four of the Star Treks series and spin offs , Battlestar Galactica ( both new and old) , then came the new flash Gorden, Star Gate SG-1, and Star Gate Atlantis (can’t wait for the new Star Gate Universe).
Of the new shows my favorites are Warehouse 13, Fringe, and Sanctuary. I really liked the series Jericho and couldn’t understand why they didn’t have more seasons. It really ended with loose ends which irritated me immensely.
As far as network TV shows all are on CBS. All the CSIs, NCIS, Menalist, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, Flashpoint, Ghost Whisperer, and Cold Case are on the list.
Good fall viewing to all.

Brenda Kipp_1

9/21/2009 4:35:57 PM

You know what I'm eagerly awaiting, Jean!:) NCIS rules!!

Lori

9/21/2009 12:06:28 PM

Jean, My must see tv night is Thursday night, and that is really the only night I watch television. I am a complete and total Survivor fan! I have been since the very first season, and I will be till they stop. I also like CSI, although I don't think it's as good since some of the original people left. I will watch it anyway, simply because it is between Survivor and my other must see, The Mentalist! I love that show as well! I don't know if they will pick up where they left off last season, or save it for later, but I really want to know who Red John is!!!

Jean Teller

9/21/2009 11:40:11 AM

LOL, Cindy! Sometimes I wonder about my TV viewing habits - as you can well imagine, I don't get much else done most evenings. And of course I spend a lot of my weekends catching up on the DVR/VCR tapings. I really did winnow it down some last year, and I'll probably do a bit more this year. Not too many of the new shows have caught my attention, and I find myself becoming more selective about what I'll spend my time on. That goes for movies too. I'd much rather pick up a book.
I'm with you on Lost - I'll be there until the bitter end.
And Life! I loved Life! (And Life on Mars.)

Cindy Murphy

9/18/2009 9:05:03 PM

LMHO, Jean. How can you possibly keep up with that kind of schedule?! If I were you, I'd keep forgetting to set the VCR - or mostly likely set it wrong and record some god-awful reality cooking-on-the-road-while-trying-to-find-your-way-back-home-with-only-a-map-and-$20-after-discovering-you-are-the-sole-survivor-on-a-little-known-tropical-island show by mistake. (Whew! I got tired just typing that.)
My viewing schedule is simple; these are the shows I make it a point to watch: Sunday is Cold Case, Monday is House, Tuesdays are reserved for whatever channel the remote rests on, Mercy looks like it for me on Wednesdays, Thursday is a biggie - Survivor and CSI; Friday's and Saturday's line up are just like Tuesday's.
I'll probably watch LOST when in premieres sometime in winter - only because I suffered through the past season, and this season is the last. Gotta stick it out until the end, you know.
And I'm still bumming they took Life off the air. Pfft!

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